Double counting: $3-4 bn downward revision in gold import figures likely

AN UNUSUAL JUMP in gold imports in November (180 tonnes in volume, i.e., three times the average in the first 10 months, $14.3 billion compared with $4.3 billion in the first 10 months) is partly being explained by the double counting of gold—as it enters Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and then again as it exits the SEZs.

- RAVI DUTTA MISHRA

This data discrepancy is due to the shift in the e-filing services for gold traders to the Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE) platform from National Securities Depository (NSDL) since July 1, according to sources. The traders had sought this as an ‘ease of doing business’ measure since they faced certain "transaction charges" in the NSDL platform.

The sources said the discrepancy, being addressed through a reconciliation of data between the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) under the commerce ministry and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) under the finance ministry, is estimated to have added between $3 billion and $4 billion to the November gold imports.